"I will never leave you or forsake you."

“I will never leave you or forsake you.” Joshua 1:5

Abandonment. A very real event and a very common theme in the world today. Many have had parents or a partner leave…no further contact. So many children of divorced parents internalize the leaving of the parent as abandonment. The sudden death of a loved one often leaves one feeling abandoned, even though it’s nobody’s fault. In the case of suicide, the abandonment can be more painful real. Even emotional distance in family, relationships and the work place cause people to suffer from a sense of desertion.

The problems of associated abandonment or perceived abandonment are well known. Many go through life fearing rejection. As a result they find it difficult if not impossible to form meaningful and intimate relationships. New relationships are simply out of the question as the woundedness of abandonment continues to cause people to withdraw and become emotionally and even physically isolated. With this comes loneliness. The person feeling abandonment often suffers from shattered self-esteem and self-worth.

Christians are not exempt from the problem of a sense of abandonment. In the same way some feel abandoned by parents, they also feel abandoned by God. When traumatic events happen, God can seem far away and even absent completely. With so much pain and suffering in the world, many have no sense of the presence of God… “he has abandoned us to our fate.”

But nothing is further from the truth. Abandonment has no part of the experience of a person of faith because it is not the reality with God. He promised his covenant people that he would never leave them or forsake them. (Joshua 1:5). His continued presence, from their release from captivity in Egypt until they became a great nation, was evident. Even when Jesus, the Son of God returns to heaven, he says to his followers, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20). We can count on God’s presence now and forever.

This part of God’s story can be the greatest gift of great comfort for those who suffer from abandonment and loneliness. The reality of God’s forever-presence needs fresh apprehension. Meditation on this great truth can help us internalize it and bring healing. But went a person is really stuck in their feelings caused by abandonment, it is you and I that are the presence of God in that person’s life. And when we ourselves are stuck with feelings of estrangement from God, it is the people of God who have the presence and wisdom of God that we need. The “demons” of abandonment don’t have to dog us!

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deut. 31:6